As can be seen by U.S. Pat. Nos. 534,080; 809,502; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 55,455; U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,614,842; 2,756,053 and 4,147,360, four-person chess and checker boards have been created upon which more than two people can play a variation of either chess or checkers. With respect to these games, it will be noted that none of the squares are specialized in that none of the squares are designated as having any quality other than the quality of a traditional square of a given color (e.g., light or dark). That is to say, there is no quality of variant game squares which alters traditional game play. For example, in traditional chess, a knight may take a pawn at any position on the board, and this is also the case where a checker piece of one party can take the checker piece of another party in any legal position on the board. Ability to take pieces at any position on the board is central to game play. Other game patents of interest are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,604,709; 3,820,791; 3,995,704 and 4,256,309.
While "war games" have been popular for many centuries, the degree of adversarial content varies significantly, as does the nature of play permitted. On the other hand, there have been few games, if any, in which the objective of the game is to offer cooperation among those players who have been in an initial adversarial relationship. This is a relatively new development which springs from nuclear scenarios.
It will be appreciated, at least in chess, that a stalemate occurs when no move is available except one that results in check for a king when the king to move was not previously in check, when insufficient power remains to effect checkmate, or when both players agree that continued play will result in stalemate. Indeed, there are some chess masters who prefer to play to a stalemate in certain situations as opposed to trying to win, either for psychological advantage or because of a potential losing situation.
However, stalemate is viewed as a lost cause as opposed to an outright loss. It is a consequence second to frustrated victory but preferred over certain defeat. Detente, in contrast, can be appreciated as an alternative to either victory or defeat and sought as a condition in its own right. It is not necessarily an outcome of contest, but it is a preferred alternative to the results of war.
It is, therefore, an object of the subject invention to provide a unique board configuration which permits a detente or an agreed-upon situation as an alternative to defeat, victory or stalemate while, at the same time, increasing the level of sophistication and complexity of the game.
Moreover, a unique game board configuration is provided by a multi-person checker- or chess-like board upon which players may band together or consult in order to work their way out of a conflict situation. Their choices include alliances, individual supremacy, continued conflict and detente. It is a unique and timely game to impress modern conditions upon players. Very simply, it is a game that embodies modern political concepts in its structure. Never before have games tried to embody detente, quite simply because the concept did not exist as a political reality at the time of their creation.